1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a container for the shipment and/or storage of garments on hangers and to a unitary blank of a foldable sheetlike material from which such a container can be erected.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the prior art to provide special corrugated fiberboard containers for the shipment and/or storage of garments on hangers to ensure that the garments do not become unduly wrinkled during shipment or storage. U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,113 (T. E. Bower), which is assigned to the assignee in this application, discloses a garment container of the foregoing character. Other prior art garment containers which are erected from blanks of a foldable sheetlike material are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,561,053 (C. D. Fallert), 2,817,431 (H. F. Cecil), 2,873,851 (H. J. Abramson), 3,139,978 (J. A. Moglia), 3,565,242 (E. Kenkell), 3,866,750 (H. S. Collin), 4,119,197 (W. M. Pilz), 4,151,947 (J. H. Partain), 4,060,169 (L. R. Hildebrand, et. al.), 4,416,371 (J. F. Nauheimer), and 4,324,389 (B. R. Bethune, et al.).
As is clear from the foregoing prior art references, the problems addressed by prior inventors of corrugated fiberboard garment containers have chiefly focused on the provision of a transversely extendingly bar of suitable strength and rigidity to carry the weight of several hangers with garments thereon, and on the provision of a suitable foldable entry panel for access to the interior of the container as required for the placement of garments on hangers in the container and for the removal of garments on hangers therefrom.
With respect to the problem of providing a transversely extending bar of suitable strength and rigidity, prior artisans usually have either utilized a separate, reinforced member, as is typified by aforesaid U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,360,113 and 3,866,750, or they have attempted to form an integral hanger bar from the elements of the container blank itself, as is typified by the aforesaid U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,060,169 and 4,342,389. However, the use of a separate hanger bar, especially a reinforced hanger bar, adds to the expense of the container, and the use of an integral hanger bar requires a rather complex construction to provide suitable hanger bar rigidity, especially considering the weight of multiple garments on hangers which are to be suspended therefrom, and the fact that the container blank itself must be relatively thin and lightweight to permit it to be folded into the container in question. Further, the problem of providing a suitable foldable entry panel has been addressed as a separate problem, for example, as is shown in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,561,053, 3,139,978 and 4,342,389, without attempting to utilize the entry panel to support the opposed sides of an integral hanger bar.